The Awakening - Chapter One

Philip sat across the table from Bobby. Philip both loved and hated his work. He loved his work because he truly believed he could help these poor lost souls. He also hated his work because it made him sick to see how young these dregs of society were. They should be enjoying their youth, not locked up because they were a threat to society. Bobby was one of these threats.

Bobby was fifteen years old. It started innocently enough. All he did was pocket an item at a store without paying for it. The feeling he got when he got away with it was intoxicating. So he did it again but the feeling wasn’t as high. So the next time he raised the stakes. Each time he raised the stakes, the feeling got better. Bobby was addicted. He wasn’t addicted to drugs, he was addicted to the thrill of getting away with theft. It wasn’t long though before Bobby’s luck ran out. The first time he was caught stealing, it was something small. The next time he was caught it was something bigger. Soon he had a reputation. Finally he ended in a youth detention center.

Philip knew that other than Bobby’s thrill of getting away with stealing, that he was otherwise a good kid. If Bobby could just get over it, he could easily turn his life around but no matter how Philip applied his years of training to Bobby’s situation, Bobby didn’t change. In fact, Philip could see that Bobby was getting worse and he didn’t know what to do about it. He couldn’t talk Bobby out of his obsession.

That night Philip sat alone at his desk. He was depressed. He wanted to make a difference but no matter what he did, there was always somebody else who needed saving. Philip wasn’t sure he could go on like that. Maybe he needed to consider another career. The turnover rate in his profession was high for that very reason. Many of his peers get depressed because they realize that they are not making the difference they thought they would and dealing with the problems of others can weigh a person down.

As Philip sat there feeling sorry for himself, he heard a knock at his door. When he answered it, it was his old friend George. Philip hadn’t seen George for many years and had actually lost track of him. They were friends once, but now they didn’t really know anything about each other, except that the other person existed. Philip asked George to come in and offered him a drink. George declined the drink offer and said that he had some business to talk to Philip about.

George could see that something was upsetting Philip so he asked him about it. Philip explained the situation with Bobby and how nothing he seemed to do helped the young person. George said he could help Bobby. George explained that Bobby’s mind was simply out of balance. George gave Philip a supplement that could restore the balance that Bobby is missing. Philip wasn’t sure he understood what George was talking about, but if it would help Bobby, he needed to give it a shot since nothing else he did seemed to matter. George gave Philip a month’s supply of the supplement and Philip promised to give him one dose a day while the supply lasted. George gave Philip his business card and asked him to keep him informed and let him know how the supplement worked out. George left and Philip went to bed.

The next day, Philip felt uneasy. He didn’t know anything about the supplement but he was in a desperate situation. He really wanted to save Bobby. When Philip saw Bobby the next day, he gave Bobby the supplement in his drink and Bobby took it. This went on for the next month. Over time Bobby became less interested in stealing. He said he remembered that he did it. He said he remembered the feeling he got when he did it but that he didn’t feel that way anymore. Philip was amazed. He had never seen such a dramatic turnaround.